Cattle-rack



(No Model.)

J. H. HOWARD. CATTLE RACK.

No. 454,357. Patented June 16,1891.

"o" A I o o w Q2 "W 5 W ssssss 8: "4 W INVENTOR:

0 I bwzm eda f I dm M A r romv STATES PATENT OFFICEe JAMES HERVEYHOW'ART), OF BALDlVIN, KANSAS.

CATTLE-RACK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 454,357, dated June 16,1891.

Application filed February 19, 1891. Serial No. 382,070. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Janus Hnnvnr Ilow- ARD, of Baldwin, in the county ofDouglas and State of Kansas, have invented a new and ImprovedCattle-Rack, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

My invention relates to cattle-racks, and has for its obj ect to providea means whereby cattle may be fed from stacks of hay or other foodlocated in a field without wasting the food and without danger of thestack when undermined falling upon the cattle to their 1n ury.

A further object of the invention is to provide a means whereby the rackmay be expeditiously and conveniently shifted to or from the stack, asmay be required.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rack of simple, durable,and economic construction, and which may be readily set up in any field.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of, theseveral parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed outin the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar figures and letters of referenceindicate corresponding parts in both the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the rack in operative position, andFig. 2 is a perspective view of a fence'panel used in connection withthe rack.

A number of posts 10 are fixedly secured in the ground, the said postsbeing arranged in rows between rows of hay-stacks or stacks of otherfood to be fed to the cattle. Two 0011- tiguons posts in one or more ofthe rows are connected by rails 11., the rails being preferablyparallel, as shown in Fig. 1. The rails are attached to the poststhrough the medium of bolts provided with suitable nuts, and in eachrail a number of longitudinally-arranged apertures 12 are produced.

In connection with the posts 10 and their rails 11 adjustablefence-panels A are employed. The panels preferably consist of a seriesof longitudinally-arranged slats 13, e011- nected by a series ofuprights 1i. At the center of each panel a longitudinal opening 15 isformed by omitting slats, the said opening being of sufiicient height toadmit of the passage of the heads of the cattle. The slats at the topand bottom of the openings 15 in the panels are longer than the otherslats, and the extremities of these longer slats are utilized to connecttwo or more panels. The rails 11 pass through the openings 15 in thepanels, and one panel is preferably located bet-ween each two opposedrails. The panels are held in an upright position through the medium ofarms 16, which may be termed runners, the said arms being provided withstraps 17 or their equivalents at their lower ends, which straps arepassed over the ends of the lower long slats of the panels, and theupperends of the arms or runners are connected with the rails 11. bypassing bolts through the runners and through one of apertures 12 in therails, the said bolts being provided with suitable nuts. One runner onlyneed be employed at the junction of two panels, as the lower long slatsof the panels are preferably made to overlap and are connected by a boltor an equivalent thereof. The upper long slats of the abutting panelsare also made to overlap and are tied together, preferably, through themedium of a chain 18 secured to one of the long slats near its ends, andthe chains are passedover the overlapping portions of the upper slatsand are carried downward and attached to the rails 11 by passing boltsthrough links of the chains and through the apertures in the rails. Ifin practice it is found desirable, the openings 15 in the panels may beclosed by doors 1E), hinged to one of the slats, as illustrated in Fig.2.

\Vhen panels are connected in a sufficient number to extend across afield, the end panels are attached to the fence B inclosing the field,as illustrated in Fig. 1; butwhen the stacks are located at one cornerof a field, for instance, or in the center of the field, and it isdesired to inclose the stacks in such manner that the cattle can feed atall sides, a fence is constructed upon three sides of the stacks, thefence being formed by panels D, constructed as illustrated in Fig. 2.These panels are made practically in like manner to the panels A but theslats are ordinarily of equal length, and the center upright 14: has achain 20 attached at or near its lower end, provided with a stake orpin21, which pin is driven in the ground, serving as a brace when thepanels are'in position. The panels D are secured to the posts 10 bymeans of bolts 22, and the panels are ordinarily held some distance awayfrom the posts through the medium of washers 23, surrounding the bolts.It will be understood that when a fence inclosing three sides of thestacks is employed the fourth side is closed or protected by the ad- 'justable panels A; but two or more sides may be made up of adjustablepanels, if desired.

,If it is desired to have the cattle feedfrom one side only of theinclosure,'the doors 19 in the panels at the other sides of theinclosing structure are closed. The panels A, constituting one side ofthe inclosure, may be, expeditiously and conveniently moved in thedirection of the stack or stacks as the hay is exhausted by removing thebolts connecting the runners 16 with the rails 11 and carrying thepanels the desired distance forward, and when the proper position isobtained the runners are again attached to the rails by pass ing thebolts through another of the apertures 12 therein. hen the hay in oneline of stacks has been used up, the rails 11 are transferred to thenext set of posts, and the adjustable panels are shifted and attached tothe rails in their new position. hen the adjustable panels are extendedto the ordinary fence, as shown in Fig. 1, the end rail 11 is locatedsome distance inside the fenceline, and the space between the rail andfence is closed by a short panel, which panel may be secured'to theadjacent adjustable panel and to the fence in any suitable or approvedmanner. The short section may also be hinged, if desired, to act as agate, whereby access may be had to that portion of the field in whichthe stacks are located.

By means of arack constructed as described it is evident that thecattlewill be prevented from wasting the food and that the food can bebrought at all times within easy reach of the cattle. Again, the 'dangerof the cattle becoming smothered in consequence of undermininga stack,and thus causing the upper portion to fall over upon them, is avoided,as when any undermining has taken place anattendant may level the stackby the use of any suitable implementand bring the hay close to thepanels A.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. The combination, with a series of posts arrangedin rows and rails detachably attached their ends to the posts, of panelsseparate and independent of said posts containing feedopenings and adjustably attached to the rails, substantially as and for the purposespecified.

2. The combination, with posts and rails removably attached thereto andprovided with aseries of apertures, of fence-panels containingfeed-openings and arms or runners attached to the panels atone end andadj ustably secured to the rails at their opposite end, as and for thepurpose specified.

3. The combination, with a series of posts arranged in rows and railscontaining apertures and removably attached to the posts, offence-panels containing feed-openings, the said panels being arranged atan angle to the rails, a connection between the panels, and arms orrunnerssecured at one end to the panels and adjustably connected attheir opposite end to the rails, as and for the purpose specified.

4. The combination, with posts arranged in rows and rails removablyconnecting the posts, of fence-panels provided with feedopenings anddoors adapted to close the same and runners or arms secured at one endto the panels and adjust-ably attached at their opposite end to therails, as and for the purpose specified.

JAMES HERVEY IlOlVARD.

\Vitnesses:

S. K. KIDDEB, L. E. KIDDER.

